Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda VI.64 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Behold! Uṣas, the radiant dawn-goddess, riseth from her chamber in the east. She hath put on her garments of gold and purple; she hath kindled the fires of morning. All the world awaketh at her coming.
Thou art the firstborn of the eternal days, O Uṣas! Each dawn thou renewest the face of the earth. The birds sing out their praise as thou passest; the flowers lift their faces to greet thee. The darkness flees before thy approach, and the light of thy countenance burneth away all shadow and gloom.
How beautiful art thou in thy majesty! How splendid thy procession across the sky! Thou art neither weary nor daunted, but always — at every dawn — thou risest anew to bring light to all creatures. This is thy nature, thy everlasting function, thy sacred duty.
The immortal ones themselves do marvel at thy coming. The gods themselves do honor thee, for thou art the herald of their works. Thou dost prepare the path for Sūrya, the sun-god, and thou dost announce the coming of all the day's sacred tasks.
We mortals too do pay thee reverence. We rise from our slumber to greet thee. We make our offerings and sing our hymns as thou ascendest. Grant us, O gracious goddess, a day filled with light and blessing. Guard us from evil, guide us in our ways, and lead us safely through until thou returnest with the evening's gentle dimness.
Be merciful unto us, O Uṣas, thou unfailing opener of the gates of day.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda VI.64
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
ud u śriya uṣaso rocamānā asthur apāṁ normayo ruśantaḥ |
kṛṇoti viśvā supathā sugāny abhūd u vasvī dakṣiṇā maghonī || 1 ||
bhadrā dadṛkṣa urviyā vi bhāsy ut te śocir bhānavo dyām apaptan |
āvir vakṣaḥ kṛṇuṣe śumbhamānoṣo devi rocamānā mahobhiḥ || 2 ||
vahanti sīm aruṇāso ruśanto gāvaḥ subhagām urviyā prathānām |
apejate śūro asteva śatrūn bādhate tamo ajiro na voḻhā || 3 ||
sugota te supathā parvateṣv avāte apas tarasi svabhāno |
sā na ā vaha pṛthuyāmann ṛṣve rayiṁ divo duhitar iṣayadhyai || 4 ||
sā vaha yokṣabhir avātoṣo varaṁ vahasi joṣam anu |
tvaṁ divo duhitar yā ha devī pūrvahūtau maṁhanā darśatā bhūḥ || 5 ||
ut te vayaś cid vasater apaptan naraś ca ye pitubhājo vyuṣṭau |
amā sate vahasi bhūri vāmam uṣo devi dāśuṣe martyāya || 6 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
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